British-born writer Aatish Ali Taseer, whose Overseas Citizen of India status was revoked by the Indian government, has 'some news'.

"Some news: at an oath-taking ceremony today in lower Manhattan, I became a US citizen. Less than a year after the Modi govt stripped me of my status in India, it is amazing to be part of this great country. I hope to vote in Novmy first time!for the bigheartedness I saw today," he tweets.

The Congress on Monday welcomed the Rafale aircraft in the country, saying the party has nothing against the fighter jet, but reiterated there were "issues in the way the contract was handled".

 

"There is no issue with the Rafale aircraft. The Rafale aircraft was evaluated and approved by the UPA. We welcome the Rafale aircraft," senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said when asked about five Rafale jets arriving in the country soon. 

The Congress had made the purchase of Rafale fighter jets by the Modi government-1 a major poll issue during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, alleging corruption in the deal. The charges were vehemently denied by the BJP. 

"Why should we protest against Rafale aircraft? Remember from day one, we said that it is a good aircraft. In fact, it was chosen by the UPA government. 

"There is nothing wrong with the aircraft. There are other issues in the way the contract was handled," he said at a virtual press conference, when asked about it. 

The first batch of five Rafale fighter aircraft on Monday took off from France for India, nearly four years after the two countries inked an inter-governmental agreement to supply 36 of the multi-role jets to the Indian Air Force under a Rs 59,000-crore deal.

The aircraft flew out from the Merignac airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will cover a distance of nearly 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates before arriving at Ambala airbase on Wednesday, officials said. -- PTI 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the construction and beautification work is progressing for the Ayodhya bypass at Rs 55 crore to showcase the historic city.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the city to lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple on August 5.

 

"Sri Ram is a symbol of our culture and heritage. Ram Janmabhoomi temple's construction will begin soon. For beautification- and construction-related works of the Ayodhya bypass, NHAI has sanctioned a project worth Rs 55 crore," Gadkari said in a video message.

 

The road transport and highways minister added that the bypass will "showcase Ayodhya's beauty to visitors from the country and abroad".

 

The bypass connecting Ayodhya will be 16-km long. A query sent to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) seeking details about the bypass project remained unanswered.

 

He said the Rs 55-crore project, sanctioned on the request of Ayodhya MP Lallu Singh, includes a bypass construction work of Rs 40 crore and beautification of Rs 15 crore.

 

"Special trees will be planted and Ayodhya will be beautified," the minister said.

 

"The present progress of the civil work is nearly 30 per cent at present date," he said.

 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday visited Ayodhya and placed the idols of Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughan on the new 'asans' at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site.

 

Adityanath was on a short visit to Ayodhya to review the preparations for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the temple.

 

Ayodhya MP Lallu Singh thanked Gadkari for taking initiative for construction and beautification of bypass. -- PTI  

Tech giant Google on Monday said it is extending work from home facility for its employees globally, including in India, till June 30 next year. 

   

"To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021 for roles that don't need to be in the office," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in an e-mail to staffers. 

 

Google has around two lakh employees, including contractors and full-time workers. 

 

In May, Google had also announced USD 1,000 allowances to cover equipment costs for employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Most tech firms have allowed their employees to work from home but are gradually bringing people back to the workplace while following precautions around safety and hygiene. However, many are exploring the option of making WFH a permanent feature. 

 

Twitter previously has said it will allow all employees to continue on remote work indefinitely. -- PTI 

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who was called to record his statement in the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case on Monday, told police that he had met the deceased actor only twice in life.

"I don't support nepotism. I have given so many newcomers their first chance. I have met Sushant Singh in person only twice -- once in 2018 about my book and again in 2020," Bhatt informed the police while his statement was being recorded at the Santa Cruz Police Station in Mumbai.

Bhatt also said that he never asked actor Rhea Chakraborty to leave her boyfriend Rajput.

"I have never said anything to Rhea about leaving Sushant or anything like that. Rumours about this are baseless," he said.

Days after Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14, Chakraborty announced her relationship with the Dil Bechara actor on a social media platform while she requested Union home minister Amit Shah to order a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry in the case.

The filmmaker said casting Rajput in his upcoming movie Sadak 2 did not work due to some reasons.

"Casting Sushant in Sadak 2 did not work out for some reason but it's not true that Sushant had asked to cast Rhea opposite him and that is why he was dropped from Sadak 2. It not true," he said. -- ANI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the issue of rising crime, alleging "jungle raj" was growing in the state, but no action was being taken apart from some transfers. 

The Congress general secretary has been attacking the Uttar Pradesh government over law and order and has slammed the state dispensation over the Vikas Dubey incident as well as the killing of Ghaziabad-based journalist Vikram Joshi, who was shot in the head by some assailants.

"Has the UP chief stopped watching the news? Do these reports not go before the people sitting in the Home Department?" Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"New records of gunda raj are being set in UP. There has been a kidnapping incident in the CM's hometown and a massacre in Kasganj," she tweeted, tagging news reports on the two incidents of crime.

But, apart from a few transfers for the sake of formality, nothing else happens, she said.

"Jungle raj is growing," Priyanka Gandhi added. -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon on August 1 during which over 10,000 students will compete to solve 243 problem statements from government departments and industries, Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Monday.

 

The HRD minister chaired a high-level meeting to give final shape to the plan for the finale of the hackathon event scheduled from August 1-3.

Smart India Hackathon is an initiative to identify new and disruptive digital technology innovations for solving the challenges faced by our country.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the grand finale of the largest ever online hackathon in the world from 7 pm onwards on August 1 through video-conference. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the finale shall be organised online by connecting all the participants throughout the nation together over a specially built advanced platform," Nishank said.

"This year, we will have more than 10,000 students competing to solve 243 problem statements from 37 central government departments, 17 state governments and 20 industries. Each problem statement carries a prize money of Rs 1 lakh except the student innovation theme which will have three winners, 1st, 2nd and 3rd, with prize money of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively," he added.

Hackathon is a non-stop digital product development competition, where problems are posed to technology students to suggest innovative solutions. 

"Students would have the opportunity to work on challenges faced by government departments and private sector organisations for which they can offer outside-the-box and world-class solutions," a senior HRD Ministry official said.

"The first level screening of students' ideas has already taken place in January through a college level hackathon and only the winning teams at the college level were made eligible for the national round. Again at national level, ideas were screened by experts and evaluators and only the shortlisted teams will compete in the grand finale," he added.

This is the fourth edition of the hackathon organised by HRD ministry.

"As outcome of Smart India Hackathons till date, around 331 prototypes have been developed, 71 start-ups are under formation, 19 start-ups are successfully registered. Further, 39 solutions have already been deployed at various departments, and around 64 potential solutions have been funded for further development," the official said. -- PTI

India on Monday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan High Commission over reports of attempts being made to convert a famous gurudwara at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore into a mosque, a spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said.

   

"A strong protest was lodged with the Pakistan High Commission today on the reported incident whereby Gurdwara Shahidi Asthan', site of martyrdom of Bhai Taru Singh ji at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore, Pakistan has been claimed as the place of Masjid Shahid Ganj and attempts are being made to convert it to a mosque," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

 

He said India expressed its concerns, in strongest terms, on the incident and called upon Pakistan to investigate the matter and take immediate remedial measures.

 

"Pakistan was also called upon to look after the safety, security, well-being of its minority communities including protection of their religious rights and cultural heritage," Srivastava said, responding to a query on the matter.

 

He said Gurdwara Shahidi Asthan Bhai Taru Ji is a historical gurdwara where Bhai Taru Ji made supreme sacrifice in 1745.

 

"The gurdwara is a place of reverence and considered sacred by the Sikh community. This incident has been viewed with grave concern in India. There have been calls for justice for the minority Sikh community in Pakistan," he added. -- PTI 

The viscera report of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has ruled out any foul play in his death here last month, a police official said on Monday.

The Mumbai police, probing the case of alleged suicide by Rajput, has received his viscera sample report which came "negative", indicating no foul play in his death, he said.

The report was submitted by the Kalina-based Forensic Science Laboratory to the probe team on Sunday, the official said.

Earlier, Rajput's post-mortem report had stated that the 34-year-old actor, who was found hanging in his apartment, died due to asphyxia.

Cyber report and findings of the physics department of the forensic lab are yet to be submitted, he said.

Meanwhile, sources in the FSL said the viscera report did not find anything suspicious in the actor's death.

"It seems it is a suicide case. Now we are collecting evidences from his mobile phone and the cyber department is working on it to find out if messages or videos were deleted from his mobile phone," they said.

Earlier in the day, the police recorded the statement of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in connection with the actor's death case.

Rajput was found dead on June 14 at his rented flat in suburban Bandra. -- PTI  

American warplanes have approached the Chinese mainland, with one reaching within 76.5km of Shanghai, one of the closest passes in recent years, a media report said on Monday amid deepening tensions between the two nations following the tit-for-tat closure of consulates.

A United States P-8A (Poseidon) anti-submarine plane and an EP-3E reconnaissance plane entered the Taiwan Strait, flying near the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian on Sunday, according to the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Peking University think tank.

It first tweeted about the operation on Sunday morning, later adding that the reconnaissance plane was flying back after approaching Fujian and the southern part of the Taiwan Strait.

The think-tank tweeted again at night, saying the US Navy P-8A was operating near Shanghai, with the USS Rafael Peralta, a guided-missile destroyer, following a similar route, asking might be a joint operation?, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

 

According to a chart from the think tank, the P-8A came within 76.5km of Shanghai, the closest any US planes have come to mainland China in recent years, while the other plane came within 106km of Fujian's southern coast, the report said.

 

It was the 12th day in a row that US military planes have approached the mainland coast, it said.

The US move comes amid an escalation in the diplomatic feud between the two nations.

China on Monday said it took control of the US consulate in Chengdu after it was formally closed as per Beijing's directive in retaliation to America's move to shut down the Chinese diplomatic mission in Houston.

Last week, the US government ordered the closure of China's consulate in Houston, Texas, claiming the mission had been involved in a larger Chinese espionage effort using diplomatic facilities around the US.

The closures were the latest in a series of confrontations ranging from areas such as trade and technology to diplomacy and the South China Sea. -- PTI

United States national security adviser Robert O'Brien has tested positive for coronavirus and has "mild symptoms," the White House announced on Monday, becoming the highest ranking Trump administration official to contract the deadly disease.

 

O'Brien has been self-isolating and working from home and there was no risk of exposure to President Donald Trump or Vice-President Mike Pence, the  statement said.

The 54-year-old top Trump aide has "mild symptoms."

       

O'Brien is the highest-ranking official in the Trump's administration known to have tested positive for COVID-19.

 

"National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has tested positive for COVID-19," the White House statement said.

"He has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site. There is no risk of exposure to the president or the vice-president. The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted," it added.

Officials close to President Trump are regularly tested for COVID-19, which has infected over 4.13 million people and killed more than 146,000 people in the US.

A number of people in and around the administration have tested positive, including a military member who works as a White House valet, Pence's press secretary Katie Miller, and a helicopter squadron Marine. -- PTI 

The tally of COVID-19 cases in Dharavi slum here rose to 2,540 on Monday with addition of nine new cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.

The biggest slum, once a COVID-19 hotspot, now has only 98 cases, an official said.

The daily number of new cases in Dharavi has declined steadily in the last few weeks.

The doubling rate of cases has improved to over 238 days. The case growth rate stood at 0.37 per cent on Saturday. -- PTI  

The human clinical trial of indigenously developed Covaxin, a possible vaccine against the novel coronavirus, began at an institute here on Monday, a senior official said.

The much-awaited trial of BBV152 COVID-19 vaccine or Covaxin commenced at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, one of the 12 centres selected by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting phase one and two of the process, the official at the facility said.

Covaxin, which is being developed by Bharat Biotech, was administered to several selected persons who had volunteered to be part of the crucial trial, Dr E Venkat Rao, principal investigator of the trial process, told PTI.

The volunteers had undergone a rigorous screening procedure, he said, adding they were administered the vaccine strictly in accordance with the protocols laid down by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), he said.  -- PTI

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Kwok-Yung Yuen, a microbiologist, physician and surgeon in Hong Kong, who helped to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, said the physical evidence at the Huanan wildlife market was destroyed and the response to clinical findings was slow.

'When we went to the Huanan supermarket, of course, there was nothing to see because the market was clean already. So, you may say that the crime scene is already disturbed because the supermarket was cleared. We cannot identify any host which is giving the virus to humans,' Yuen was quoted as saying.

'I do suspect that they have been doing some cover-up locally at Wuhan. The local officials who are supposed to immediately relay the information have not allowed this to be done as readily as it should,' he said in the report.

The coronavirus originated from the Huanan wildlife market in Wuhan in December last year and has globally infected over 16 million people and claimed the lives of more than 648,000 people and bringing the world economy to a standstill.

According to the Johns Hopkins data, China has recorded 86,570 COVID-19 cases and 4,652 deaths.

Several countries, including the US, have criticised China for not divulging information about the severity of the disease.

However, China has denied the accusations of withholding information.

It is also accused of reprimanding Dr Li Wenliang and other whistleblowers in Wuhan who tried to warn medics about the deadly virus.

Li, who was the first to report about the virus in December last year, contracted the disease and died in February.   -- PTI

PM Narendra Modi launches COVID-19 3 new high-throughput testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata. Highlights of his speech:

-- Today, there are more than 11,000 COVID-19 facilities and more than 11 lakh isolation beds in the country. We also have nearly 1300 testing labs in the country and more than 5 lakh tests are being conducted daily.

"In January, we had only one centre for COVID-19 testing; now there are about 1,300 labs operating in country.

"These labs will not remain restricted to testing of COVID19 but will be expanded for testing of many other diseases including Hepatitis B & C, HIV, & Dengue in future.

"Deaths due to coronavirus in India are much lower than many big countries."

The focused efforts of the Centre, state governments and Union Territory administrations on early detection and isolation through aggressive testing and efficient clinical management of hospitalised cases have shown results with continuously falling case fatality rate and improving recovery rate, the health ministry said. 

"With effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardised clinical management protocols based on holistic standard of care approach, the case fatality rate has significantly dipped," the ministry said in a statement. The case fatality rate is progressively falling and currently is at 2.28 per cent, it said, adding that India has one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. 

India also recorded more than 30,000 recoveries in a single day for the fourth successive day with 31,991 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the ministry said. The number of recovered patients now stands at 9,17,567 with the recovery rate at 64 per cent, it said.

As a result of low mortality and more people recovering, the recovered cases exceed the active cases (4,85,114) by 4,32,453 as on Monday, the ministry said. Medical attention continues to be provided to all active cases in hospitals and home settings, it said. -- PTI

His samples, along with those of his attendants, were sent for examination on Saturday as a precautionary measure. The state-run RIMS is one of the designated COVID-19 hospitals in the Jharkhand capital. Of the three attendants who tested positive for the viral disease, two have gone for home isolation, and one has been placed under quarantine at the hospital, the doctor said. "We are observing the situation for now. If necessary, we will send the RJD leader's samples for re-examination after 4-5 days," he said. The doctor also said that the private ward allotted to the RJD supremo is routinely sanitised and necessary precautions are taken to maintain hygiene. The former Bihar chief minister, who is serving jail sentences in several cases of multi-crore fodder scam, has been undergoing treatment at the RIMS for quite some time. 

Kalraj Mishra has asked whether MLAs can be given three weeks' notice because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also asked how social distancing would be maintained in the assembly.

The Rajasthan Speaker dropped his case in the Supreme Court involving his powers to disqualify rebel MLAs. 

With his repeated utterances on the India-China face-off, Rahul Gandhi is trying to present falsehood as truth, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said. Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he is not going to lie about Chinese transgressions in eastern Ladakh even if it costs him politically. 

In his response, Rao told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi that Gandhi has again insulted the sacrifices of 20 soldiers in Ladakh with his statements. "Rahul Gandhi has not learnt from his mistakes. He had insulted our soldiers at the time of the surgical strike, the Balakot airstrike and now again he has insulted them," Rao said. 

He further said that Rahul Gandhi's political career ended in 2019 after he insulted the soldiers. Citing a reply given by the Congress-led UPA government in November 2012 in parliament, Rao said during the tenure of various governments led by the Gandhi family, they ceded more than 43,000 sq kms of land to China. 

Gandhi made his remarks in a tweet, along with an over-a-minute-long video, as part of a series launched by him on the India-China face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. "If you want me to lie that the Chinese have not entered this country, I am not going to lie. I will simply not do it. I do not care if my whole career goes to hell. I am not going to lie."

"This disturbs me. Frankly, it makes my blood boil. How can some other nation just come into our territory?" 

"Hiding the truth is anti-national. Bringing it to people's attention is patriotic," Gandhi said in his video. PTI

After the hearing, the high court dismissed the petition as the Speaker had passed the order on Dilawar's complaint. Dilwar had filed the complaint to the Speaker in March seeking disqualification of the legislators. In the writ petition on Friday, he challenged the "inaction" of the Speaker for not taking decision on his complaint. -- PTI

Speaking to reporters, Percys said the Chief Minister expressed grief over the death of her father and younger brother Bennicks and assured her family of justice. 

"A CBI probe is on and it is our belief that the judiciary will do justice and the government will stand by us in getting justice," she said and appealed for an expeditious probe.

The appointment comes days after the government provided a solatium of Rs 20 lakh to the family. Jayaraj and his son Bennicks of Tuticorin district werearrested on June 19 for allegedly violating prohibitory ordersby keeping open their shops beyond the permissible time limit.

The duo were allegedly tortured by policemen in Sathankulam police station and were lodged in Kovilpatti sub- jail. Bennicks died on June 22 and his father the next day following their admission to a government hospital in Kovilpatti.

The alleged police brutality led to an outrage, and the matter was taken up by the Madras High Court's Madurai Bench. While CB-CID initially investigated the alleged excessesand arrested 10 police personnel, the case is now probed by the CBI. -- PTI 

In a letter to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, senior Congress leaders and former law ministers Ashwani Kumar, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid said the governor's office, as envisaged under the country's constitutional scheme, is above and beyond the constraints and compulsions of partisan politics, "so that its holder can act freely and fairly to uphold the Constitution". 

"Having served as Union ministers of Law and Justice in different periods of time and as students of Constitutional law, we are of the clear view that established legal position obliges the Governor to call the assembly session in accordance with the advice of the state cabinet.

"Any deviation from established constitutional position in the present circumstances would be an avoidable negation of your oath of office and will create a constitutional crisis," the former law ministers said in the letter.

According to established conventions and the relevant articles of the Constitution, principles of parliamentary democracy and authoritative pronouncements of the Supreme Court, the governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers in the matter of convening the state assembly, they added. 

Citing a seven-judge order of the Supreme Court, the former law ministers said the governor's position, role and the limits of his circumscribed constitutional jurisdiction have been elaborated by the apex court in the "Shamsher Singh versus Union of India" case as early as 1974 and more recently, in the Nabam Rebia case of 2016. "As a holder of high public office, you are well aware that constitutional functionaries are charged by the oath of office to vindicate the Constitution in letter and spirit. This obliges the Governor, in accordance with established traditions of constitutional and parliamentary democracy, to defer to the wisdom of an elected government that expresses the will of the people. 

"We hope earnestly that true to the demands of your high office, you will not act in any manner that will countenance such a result," they said.

Mishra returned a cabinet note seeking an Assembly session to the Congress government in Rajasthan on Monday and sought additional information. This is the second time that the governor has returned the proposal and sought clarifications from the state government. -- PTI

The Supreme Court reserved its order on Monday on a plea, which has said all the money collected under the PM CARES Fund for the COVID-19 pandemic should be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund.

  

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan that the PM CARES Fund is a "voluntary fund" while funds to the NDRF and SDRF are made available through budgetary allocations.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for petitioner NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said they are not doubting the bona fide of anyone but the creation of the PM CARES Fund is allegedly in contravention of provisions of the Disaster Management Act.

He claimed that an audit of the NDRF is being conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General but the government has said the audit of the PM CARES Fund will be done by private auditors.

The Supreme Court has reserved its order on the issue raised in the petition regarding transferring the money collected under the PM CARES Fund to the NDRF.

On June 17, the apex court had asked the Centre to file its response on the plea, which has sought a direction that all the contributions made by individuals and institutions for the COVID-19 pandemic should be credited to the NDRF, rather than to the PM CARES Fund.

Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd), a regular contributor to Rediff.com, has served as President 1AFSB, Dehradun, Senior Air Instructor at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Station Commander, Jammu Air Station during his distinguished career in the Indian Air Force. He is also the author of three books: Tsunami 2004: the IAF Story: a Few Good Men & the Angry Sea, Born to Fly: Fighter Pilot MP Anil Kumar Teaches Us There is No Battle The Mind Cannot Win, and Up In The Sky: h.e.l.i.c.o.p.t.e.r stories.   

You can view the online discussion hosted by Air Commodore Sathe (retd) here.

This is the CM's second missive to the PM.

The Governor has rejected Gehlot's call to start the assembly session for a second time.

"There are people who want jobs and there are traders, businessmen, professionals, contractors who are not getting the right person for their work," he said at a virtual press briefing. "This portal will fill this gap by bringing them together on one platform." 

Kejriwal said a special order was being issued to allow the street vendors to resume work. According to the chief minister, many migrant workers who left Delhi during the lockdown have started returning.

Labour Minister Gopal Rai had said the services of the job portal would be free and an applicant need not pay any money to anyone for registration. Kejriwal expressed happiness that Delhi managed to bring the coronavirus "under control" without going back to the lockdown that other cities and states were doing. 

He said Delhi was registering a sustained lowering of COVID-19 cases at a time the infections were increasing in the country and worldwide. The chief minister pointed out that the recovery rate in Delhi had gone up to 88 per cent and the positivity ratio had dropped from around 35 per cent in June to 5 per cent currently -- PTI

Poonawalla, however, did not specify the quantity of the doses that will be kept for the community, which is grappling with shrinking population. Replying to producer Ronnie Screwvala on Twitter, Poonawalla on Sunday said, "Yes @RonnieScrewvala, we will keep more than enough for the community. Our production capacity of just one day will be enough to cover every Parsi on the planet...given the size of our community." Srewvala in his tweet, wherein he had tagged Poonawalla, said, "On a lighter note, Since Parsi's are to be Extinct race (Though avg age of Parsi's show otherwise) there is a lobby that as the vaccine does come in there will be a special quotaunder saving from extinction race..& why not if a Parsi is at the forefront of it." 

Poonawalla last week said the company aims to manufacture 300 million to 400 million doses by the year-end, following the success of initial and licensure trials. He said as part of the agreement with AstraZeneca, SII can manufacture one billion doses for India and nearly 70 low and middle income countries. There are no challenges in manufacturing of the vaccine doses and the company will be starting by making 60 to 70 million doses per day, he said. -- PTI

Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party has moved the Rajasthan High Court seeking to become a party in the petition by BJP against the merger of six BSP MLAs in the state with Congress party.

In the video, she said, "This is my last video. I have been under extreme stress in the last four months because of Seeman and his party men. I tried my best to survive for my family. I have been humiliated by Hari Nadar in the media."

"I would like to tell the fans who are watching the video just because I was born in Karnataka, Seeman has tortured me a lot," she added.

Vijayalakshmi is undergoing treatment now. 

The share sale, which was executed between July 21 and 23, brought down Puri's holding in the most valued Indian lender to just 0.01 per cent from the earlier 0.14 per cent, according to regulatory filings. The sale comes months ahead of Puri's retirement from the bank, which he led to become the largest by assets among private lenders and the second-largest overall over 25 years. 

He sold 74.20 lakh of the 77.96 lakh shares in the bank and Puri's remaining holding of the bank shares is now 3.76 lakh shares valued at over Rs 42 crore as of the last close. A bank spokesperson explained that the shares were allotted to Puri over a period of time at different price points and stressed that they were not given at par with the face value of the share. PTI

FICCI said clear-cut dates should be announced by the states to open tourism, monuments, tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and bars. All restaurants and eateries in a hotel should be allowed to serve the resident as well as non-resident guests at 50 per cent seating capacity while maintaining social distancing norms and all necessary precautions.

The Supreme Court refused to stop the High Court from ruling on the rebels' petition - as requested by the Speaker -- saying the "voice of dissent cannot be suppressed in a democracy". 

The Speaker had also challenged being told by the High Court to hold off on any action against the rebels. 

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Monday returned to the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government a cabinet note seeking an assembly session with fresh queries. This is the second time that the governor has sought clarifications from the government. The state cabinet had sent a revised note to the governor last week requesting that a session of the assembly be called on July 31 after he returned the first proposal seeking clarifications on six points.

But, 'armed groups in Northeast India have a long track record of successfully claiming a share of development funds '" with the complicity of elected and appointed public officials -- both before and after signing "peace accords'. Nagaland may be the leader in this regard, but not an exception,' writes Sanjib Baruah in the Indian Express, here.  

The team of "Bellbottom", including actors Vaani Kapoor, Huma Qureshi and Lara Dutta, will be travelling to the UK in August for a start-to-finish schedule. Produced by Vashu Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment, "Bellbottom" is one of the first films to announce resumption of shooting schedule in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdown, which had brought the entertainment industry to a grinding halt.

"The new normal has made us realise a different way of working that none of us could have imagined. As much as I'm happy to be back on the sets, it's also important for us to take care of everything around us. 

"Pooja Entertainment has laid down a safety plan for our shooting schedule abroad. We hope these measures help us accomplish a smooth and safe shoot," Akshay said in a statement. 

The production house will charter a flight to fly the entire unit with medical facilities. Besides medical-grade masks and face shields, the production house will also make it mandatory for the cast and crew to wear a wrist watch that will constantly monitor their oxygen levels, body temperature, blood pressure, stress levels and pulse. A centralised dashboard will record the parameters of the entire unit and keep a check for any changes in readings. 

Director Ranjit M Tewari said though it'll be a challenge to shoot under the current situation, the crew is excited to start the work. "It is going to be a challenging shoot given the circumstances, but I am extremely confident of the health and safety protocols put in place by Pooja Entertainment. Every member of the 'Bellbottom' family is exhilarated and geared up to kick start work," Tewari said. 

The film's on-set guidelines also includes maintaining social distancing of no less than six feet wherever possible, hand sanitising stations available throughout the set, disinfecting surface areas and equipment using alcohol-based sanitisers before and after every shoot. Producer Jackky Bhagnani said the safety measures were put in place as the health of his unit is of utmost importance. -- PTI

"Petition is pending before the High Court too," Satish Poonia, Rajasthan BJP chief on BSP's whip to all its Rajasthan MLAs to vote against Congress in floor test. "A constitutional and legal situation has risen. Either the High Court should decide or the Governor should intervene in the matter,"Poonia said on the BSP's whip to all its six Rajasthan MLAs to vote against the Congress in the event of a floor test.

The Supreme Court will again take up a petition that raises questions on the Speaker's constitutional powers to start disqualification proceedings against rebel MLAs for not attending party meetings. Speaker CP Joshi had requested the Supreme Court last week to stop the High Court from deciding on a petition by Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress rebels challenging disqualification notices. 

Even before any court decision on the status of rebels challenging his rule, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sought an assembly session from July 31.

India's coronavirus case tally has crossed the 14 lakh-mark with most states continuing to witness a daily spike in Covid-19 infections in the country. 

As many as 49,931 new cases of novel coronavirus in a single day has pushed India's tally to 14,35,453 on Monday morning. 

The death toll has climbed to 32,771 with 708 deaths in 24 hours. 

Meanwhile, the government is now formulating guidelines for Unlock 3.0 which will come into force from August. The Covid-19 restrictions of 'Unlock 2.0' end on Friday (July 31).

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has vowed not to contest any assembly elections till J&K remains a union territory as he hit out at the Narendra Modi government for the complete dilution of the indispensable Article 370 of the Constitution.

Having been a member of the most empowered assembly in the land and that, too, as the leader of that assembly for six years, I simply cannot and will not be a member of a House that has been disempowered the way ours has, Abdullah wrote for the Indian Express as the revocation of the erstwhile states special status nears its first anniversary.

The NC vice-president accepted that the BJP pushing through with the removal of Article 370, and with it Article 35A, was not a complete surprise, but he said was came as an absolute shock was that the state was downgraded and split into two Union Territories.

Describing the move as a humiliation heaped on the state, he said he still fails to understand the need for this move, except to punish the people of the state.

If the reason for carving out a separate Union Territory for Ladakh was the public demand among the Buddhist population of the area, then the demand for a separate state for the people of Jammu is much older, he wrote for the newspaper, adding that if it was based on religion then it ignores that Leh and Kargil are Muslim majority and the people of Kargil are vehemently opposed to the idea of being separated from J&K.

The former J&K CM further said that the dilution of Article 370 does not stand the test of basic scrutiny, and asserted that the special constitutional status enjoyed by J&K was not a favour done to the state.

It formed the basis of the states accession to India. There was no time stamp on these safeguards. It was understood that so long as J&K remained a part of India, the special status enjoyed by it would remain, he said.

With the Covid-19 restrictions of 'Unlock 2.0' ending on Friday (July 31), the government is now formulating guidelines for Unlock 3.0 which will come into force from August, sources said on Sunday.

For Unlock 3, the third installation in the phased easing of lockdown restrictions, a few more relaxations are being worked upon by the government.

These might include relaxations in reopening of cinema halls from August 1 but with some SOPs such as strict social distancing in place, sources said.

However, some restrictions are likely to continue in Unlock 3. 

Schools and metro train services are likely to remain shut across the country, sources said.

The HRD ministry began consultation with states on reopening of schools in a meeting chaired by Secretary of School Education, Anita Karwal.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had said earlier that feedback would be sought from parents on the issue. Subsequently, the ministry said that parents were not in favour of reopening of schools.

According to sources, gyms are also likely to be reopened in the third phase.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday launch 'high-throughput' COVID-19 testing facilities in three cities -- Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata -- via video conferencing.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, these facilities will ramp up testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, thus assisting in controlling the spread of the pandemic. 

"These three high-throughput testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida; ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai; and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day," PMO said in a release.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, along with chief ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are expected to participate in the event.

In a new twist to the unfolding political drama in Rajasthan, the BSP issued a whip to the six MLAs, who had left the party to join the Congress last year, to vote against the ruling party in the state in case of a trust motion in the Assembly.

  

In a statement, BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Misra said, "All six MLAs have been issued separate notices wherein they have been informed that since BSP is a recognised national party as such there cannot be any merger under para (4) of the 10th Schedule at the state level at the instance of six MLAs unless there is a merger of the entire BSP everywhere at the national level."

If the six MLAs voted against the party whip, they were liable for disqualification from the assembly, Mishra said.

"It has been further stated in the notice that therefore they are bound to follow the 'whip' of BSP failing which they would entail disqualification," the statement said.

Mishra also said the BSP would intervene in the pending petition of disqualification before the Rajasthan High Court or file a separate writ petition.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha won the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets.

They applied for merger as a group with the Congress on September 16 last year. The Speaker passed an order two days later declaring that the six MLAs will be treated as an integral part of the Congress.

The merger was a boost to the Ashok Gehlot-led government as the Congress tally increased to 107 in a House of 200.

A BJP MLA had on Friday filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court for quashing the merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress.